Storm shield

ABSTRACT

Storm shield guides air flow and debris contained therein over and around the structure(s) it is shielding; and in so doing takes the force of the air flow and channels it to the ground by the use of ballistic straps and cloth that covers trusses that are connected to concrete and steel foundations. The storm shield also counteracts lift created by high winds as they flow over the structure, and holds the structure down in place.

The invention relates to the use of an anchored, shock absorption shieldsystem that resists and directs high winds and wind-borne debris thatoccur during severe storm events, particularly hurricanes, tornadoes,and explosive blasts over and around structures being protected andholds down those structures, including but not limited to residentialdwellings, commercial structures, industrial structures, governmentbuildings, and vehicles of all types.

Storms such as hurricanes and tornados occur in the United States andthrough the world on a regular basis, destroying all types of buildings,vehicles, boats, ships. Wind speeds in hurricanes can exceed 180 milesper hour and winds speeds in tornados can exceed 300 hundred miles perhour. Most structures are not usually designed to withstand such windspeeds. In violent storms the tops of buildings, industrial plants,refineries, platforms, vehicles, boats, and ships have shapes similar tothe tops of wings, where the air flow over the top of the structurecreates lift, just like a wing of an airplane creates lift.Consequently, structures must be held down or they will literally, liftoff. The trusses are designed to hold structures down to prevent theirlifting up.

Storm shields herein described are shields made of a combination ofconcrete and steel foundation specifically designed to anchor a metalalloy interconnected truss system that is covered by a combination ofmaterials that will guide wind from any horizontal or vertical directionover the shield, which will absorb a large part of the force of the windand materials contained therein hitting the shield, protecting thestructure(s) or vehicle(s) behind and or beneath it.

The base of storm shields are their foundations (anchors) which anchorthe trusses to the ground, separate from the structure(s) beingshielded. The anchors are very important because they secure the trussesand do not allow the force of the wind to lift or move the storm shieldthereby protecting the structure underneath, keeping it in place.

Anchors are concrete and steel foundations that are constructed prior tothe time hurricanes or tornados arrive. The anchors serve to act as aweight to hold the truss system down during those times when the windmay get under the truss system and lift the shield upwards. The anchorsalso serve as a conduit by which the energy of the wind from a hurricaneor tornado is transferred to the ground underneath truss system, pushingdown on the truss system onto the anchors.

The hurricane shield works by using a series of triangular shapedtrusses and or air-filled tubes that comprise a shield system. Trussesare anchored to the ground in order to transfer the multi-directionalforces of hurricanes and tornados to vertical forces, transferring theforce of the blast or wind onto the anchors and into the ground. UsingNewton's third law “For every action, there is an equal and oppositereaction”, since the winds are pushing down on the truss system thetruss system is pushing the wind upwards over the shield like a wing,protecting anything behind and or beneath the shield from storm winds;and the shock absorbing materials and devices divert and deflectmaterials and debris contained in the wind, thereby protecting anythingbehind and or beneath the shield.

This invention contemplates the use of a sloped, layered approach toshielding structures from high winds and objects contained therein. Thebasis is shielding structures by building a triangular structure(shield) that is separated from the structure by a small distance thatis anchored to the ground by its own foundation in such a manner thattransfers the force of wind and objects contained therein to the ground.The triangularly shaped wood, and/or metal, and/or plastic, and/orcomposite truss structure is interconnected with straps, and is coveredwith a ballistic-resistant cover. The trusses are anchored to the groundusing concrete and steel foundations that are built prior to a stormarriving and that meet stringent testing requirements. The base of thetrusses can also serve as a shock absorption system with the use ofsprings, and/or shock absorbers that connect the trusses to thefoundations. The cover may or may not contain shock absorbing materialsas well.

The use of this invention allows very large areas with spans of greaterthan 25 feet to be covered easily. Window groupings, even severalstories of a structure, could be shielded. This invention is heavy inweight, but easy to use, is economical, and is capable of dissipatinggreat forces without damage to the structures being shielded.

Heretofore known devices have internal stiffness and rigidity thatresists deflection, or bending. It is this stiffness that stops themissile short of the frangible surface being protected. This inventiondoes not have only rigidity but rather has flexibility in combinationwith rigidity. It also is designed for being installed in advance of astorm, then disassembled and stored after the storm has passed, becauseit has features including allowing for ease of assembly, disassembly,and storage.

The flexible shield of the invention is placed a distance out from thesurface to be protected. An impacting missile stretches the shield untilit decelerates to a stop or is deflected. The shield material has apredetermined tensile strength and stretch that makes it suitable forthis application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of one embodiment of a hurricane proof stormshield. By “hurricane proof” it is meant that the storm shield is builtto withstand and be resistant to high winds (e.g., tropical storm levelwinds up to about 75 mph, hurricane force winds from about 75 mph up toabout 150 mph and the like). The storm shield is designed and built withboth standardized and or customized dimensions so as to promote ease ofassembly, repair, and protection for structures built on down slope,level, or upslope topography. Various applications are intended andcontemplated for the storm shield and, these include; single andmulti-unit or multi-family homes, as well as apartments, condominiums,support facilities, general offices, medical facilities, lightmanufacturing, commercial buildings and the like. In a typicalconstruction, the storm shield can include such features as foundation(item labeled “1”), trusses (item labeled “2”), ballistic repellentmaterials (item labeled “3”), hold-down straps (item labeled “4”), andshock absorbing materials (item labeled “5”).

FIG. 2 is a top-down view of trusses surrounding a structure beingshielded. The figure shows that the storm shield trusses (item labeled“2”) completely surrounds the structure being protected and isinterconnected with hold-down straps (item labeled “4”).

FIG. 2A is a perspective of trusses surrounding a structure beingshielded. The figure shows that the storm shield trusses (item labeled“2”) completely surrounds the structure being protected and isinterconnected with hold-down straps (item labeled “4”).

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a storm shield variation thatincludes a trussoon layer between the trusses and the cover. It alsoshows a ridge shieloon, the purpose of which is to absorb shocks ofmaterials hitting the cover over the ridgeline of the structure beingshielded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a hurricane-proofstorm shield according to one aspect of the present invention. Thetrusses are covered with trussoons, which are covered by ballisticrepellent materials. Roofoons are attached to the trusses and over laythe top of the structure being protected up to the shieloon.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a hurricane-proofstorm shield according the one aspect of the present invention. Thestorm shield shown represents a combination of shieloons that surroundthe protected structure held in place with a hurricane belt and trusseslocated at the inside corners. The shieloons fill the space under theeaves of the structure when eaves are present. In this embodiment theshieloons are made of ballistic materials. By ballistic materials ismeant bullet-resistant type material.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the trussoons covering thevertical walls of a structure. The trussoons are held in place byhurricane belt and covered with a ballistic material held in place byhurricane anchor bolts imbedded in poured concrete foundations. Thetrussoons are also held in place by carabiners.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of a hurricane-proofstorm shield according to one aspect of the present invention. Inparticular, the illustration shows a truss held in place by pouredconcrete foundations with a air-dam variation. The air dam consists ofair-filled ladders that surround the structure held in place by thetrusses and sealed to the ground with concrete foundations. The trusseshold and support the air dam vertically and horizontally therebyprotecting the structure from what is commonly known as storm surge on atemporary basis. Definition List 1 Term Definition Carabiners Quickrelease fastener Roofoon Inflatable tube attached to or on a roofShieloon Inflatable tube shielding a wall Trussoon Inflatable tubeattached to or on a truss

1. A combination of materials and structures and comprising: (a) a firstlayer of a fabric containing high strength fibers wherein the firstlayer in combination with the underlying materials will deflect in arange from a minimum of 5.0 to 20.0 centimeters employing a 15 poundprojectile at a speed of 161 kilometers (100 miles) per hour inaccordance with ASTM test procedure E1886-97 mounted on a frame inaccordance with FEMA Publication 320, Revision 1 specific to DrawingsAG-5 and 14, and/or (b) a second layer of shock absorbing materials andstructures with or without (c) a third layer of trusses attached to (d)poured in place concrete and steel anchors or foundations.
 2. Thecomposite of claim 1 (a) wherein the deflection is in a range from aminimum of 5.0 to 20.0 centimeters.
 3. Where trusses are not needed acombination of sheiloons, and roofoons can be used to cover thestructure to channel wind and debris away from the structure. In thiscase the structure must be strong enough to withstand the force of thewind and debris contained therein in or for the shield to be effective.4. The trusses will act as a base with their own foundations, which areseparate from the foundation of the structure it is protecting. Thetrusses can act as a base to which devices such as straps and roofoonscan be used to hold down the structure and to counteract the liftcreated by high winds so the structure will not lift off as storm windsflow over the structure.
 5. Where there is storm surge is a possibility,such as in low lying areas near levies, or close to a coast, a trusssystem may include an air-dam, which is a inflatable dam, which issupported by the truss system surrounding the structure.